My Mum, Betty Dalley, knew all about transformation. Born in 1953 into the Mining community, Mum experienced tragedy when she was very young, losing her precious older sister Linda in an accident when she was 5 years old. Part of a large family, Mum’s nurturing side came out as she helped her Mum to bring up 4 younger brothers and sisters. As expected for a working-class girl at the time, she left school at 15 and started working in shops. Mum worked really hard all her life, but her biggest passion was her family – my Dad, Graham, and her three girls Claire, Laura and Karen.
When Mum was 42, and her girls were starting to leave the nest, she started her own transformation. She took an admin job at Boots The Chemist, and soon her potential and talents became visible, and she quickly moved up the ladder, becoming a certified trainer and eventually holding the role of Finance Manager. Mum was so proud of her achievements, however throughout it all she never lost her desire to support and nurture people – responsible for administrative level recruitment, Mum gave a lot of young people their start at Boots, and truly invested in their success, providing coaching, mentoring, and encouragement, and often becoming their ‘work mum’! She was also game for a laugh, bringing fun into the workplace and doing crazy things to raise money for charity.
At 50 years of age, Mum transformed herself physically – always struggling with her weight, Mum had a back injury that left her in a wheelchair for months. After that, Mum decided enough was enough, joined weight watchers and even became a weight watchers leader!
When Mum took early retirement, she didn’t stop there. She invested time in charitable work and helping care for her wider family members. She did everything she could to make other people’s lives easier, continued to live her life as an inspiration to others. I was so lucky to have such a wonderful, compassionate role model to call Mum.
When Mum passed away, I was stunned by the outpouring of love from friends, family, co-workers and people I didn’t even know knew Mum. Her legacy was astounding, and it made me wonder- what will I be remembered as when I die?
I am proud to be able to continue Mum’s legacy by helping as many people as I can transform their own lives for the better through Future You Therapies.